The Test Mix Up

The CIA and the FBI had learned that some of their employees looked remarkably alike. Since they were all adopted, with the exception of the criminal consultant Neal Caffrey who they hadn't been able to confirm, it was theorized that they might be dealing with two sets of identical twins.

Taking blood samples from the sets, the agencies arranged for DNA testing to see if they were related.

When the day came to see the results, Peter and Neal sat side by side as friends supporting each other while their prospective twin brothers sat diagonally across from them but away from each other. They'd all been gathered in a conference room at the FBI for the reveal of the results.

Receiving their information packets, each one cautiously opened the file and read the results.

"We're brothers," Peter commented, but then he read the name Neal Caffrey as his brother and got confused. Asking the agent overseeing the inquiry, Peter wondered if a mistake had been made. "This says Neal Caffrey and I are brothers, is there some kind of mix-up, I was being tested against Ryker?"

The rest of the group checked their results, and sure enough, Ryker and Larkin were marked brothers while Burke and Caffrey were brothers.

Confused, the agent decided to do two more tests. They would rerun the tests for the potential twins, but now they would also cross-compare to see if they were all related.

Left alone to deal with the potential ramifications, the four men just silently looked at each other. They could all be brothers?

"You haven't said you were adopted, what do you know?" Ryker gruffly asked Neal.

Shrugging, Neal didn't answer at first but did after Peter nudged his shoulder. "I don't know, my mom lied to me about everything after my dad was arrested." Turning to Peter, he noted, "Where you try to live up to the standards your mom set for you, I grew up trying to get mine to remember that I was there. The few rare times I could get her to talk, she lied saying that my dad had been killed in an act of heroism, and she never talked about any other part of my early childhood."

"What if you aren't adopted?" Larkin asked. He seemed the most curious, after Peter of course, as his potential identical twin brother.

"Then our mom is a liar and our dad is a murdering and thieving ex-cop," Neal bitterly noted.

Reaching out, Peter put his hand on his shoulder, "That's why you don't talk about your family or childhood?"

"That and something else you'll probably learn if we really are brothers." Neal shrugged since he couldn't talk about Wit-Se or being a fellow agent, but he appreciated Peter's comfort and calm acceptance.

"You're coming over for dinner tonight," Peter instructed before patting his shoulder and dropping his hand as the awkward air settled around them again.

Fortunately, they were saved by the release to return to the medical center to make their donations for testing before they returned to work.

Ryker and Larkin quickly escaped to their own transportation while Peter and Neal more casually walked together.

Chatting through the drive once they'd reached the car, Peter talked about how he'd wanted brothers growing up. "Whether I wanted an older brother or a younger brother varied by situation and why I wanted a brother."

"Well, if Ryker is your twin, you might have an older brother, or at least he'd be the same age, while Larkin and I might be your younger brothers," Neal noted, but he seemed distant like he hadn't adjusted to the news.

"I'm okay with that, are you?" Peter questioned as he looked for a parking spot.

"Having you for a brother? Yeah, I don't have a problem with that. You'd probably have greater reason to have a problem with me being your brother. With having an identical twin and Ryker for brothers, I really don't know. They're strangers so it's hard to say how it would go." Neal tried to skim through his reaction, but he figured Peter would catch what he said.

"I'm not condoning criminal choices, but I'm glad you might be my brother. Really, I hope you are." Peter smiled as he got out before catching Neal in a sideways hug on their walk. "Actually, I can think of one exception where I hope you're not my brother, and that's if they want to break us up. I like working with my best friend."

Neal had stiffened at the mention of an exception, but had quickly relaxed with a chuckle, "Is that all?"

"Yep, that's the only reason I can think of, and even then, I'd expect you to visit." Peter kept his arm across Neal's shoulders as they walked until the entrance when they moved through the doors.

Having made the trip before, the two went to their destination, filled out the paperwork, gave their samples, and were soon returning to the bureau with their lunches.

"Did you see this coming when we were first called into the meeting?" Neal asked knowing Peter would connect what fateful meeting he meant.

Snorting, Peter was amused, "No, I didn't expect a Washington representative to open two video calls with agents in undisclosed locations to reveal that we might be twins, and I certainly didn't expect that we might all be brothers. I grew up an only child who only wished I had siblings, not as one of at least four siblings."

"To compound that, I've found that I might be adopted. Apparently, there could be no end of surprises." Neal commented as he looked out the window wondering what else could happen.

Groaning, Peter didn't want to think about it. "How about we handle one set of mysteries at a time? We don't even know if we're brothers or not, at least not for certain."

"But, I think we all sense it." Neal could somehow tell that they were brothers, but he couldn't explain it.

"I think we do," Peter didn't elaborate, he didn't need to.

Going back to work, they had a week to wait before the results would be in again.

Once again, the four men collected in the conference room to hear the results.

This time, there were two envelopes, one comparing each man to his presumed twin, and one comparing them to the other set of presumed twins.

Reading his results, Peter was happy to see that he had an identical twin brother and a younger set of twin brothers. Three biological relations!

With a contented sigh, Neal read the same information before smiling at Peter. Then on impulse, he reached out to tap Peter's arm, "You're stuck with me now."

Catching his hand, Peter squeezed gently, "Good, little brother, you'd better stick around."

Then they turned to their other brothers. The other two didn't seem as content, but they weren't upset either.

"What do you guys think?" Peter broached the topic first.

Larkin was still staring at the results with the occasional glance at Ryker.

"Ask Beckman, I was undercover when your ex-girlfriend stabbed me. I wasn't actually a threat to her family." Ryker grumbled at Larkin. Then he got an accusing tone as he asked, "What about you, traitor?"

"Operation Sandwall, not in your need to know," Larkin replied coldly with a frown.

Exchanging glances, Peter and Neal realized that they had their work cut out for them.

"So, you're both agents?" Peter led the inquiry again.

"CIA," Ryker grumbled.

"Black Ops, so we can't talk about our work," Larkin coolly elaborated, but only a little.

"We're White Colar FBI," Neal decided to contribute but he wasn't sure how to define his real role in the agency.

"How about sharing that other stuff you wouldn't talk about before?" Ryker directed Neal to talk while Peter frowned at the gruff tone his twin used.

Noting it as being comfortable for Ryker, Neal didn't mind the tone. "I grew up in Wit-Sec. My birthname, at least as far as I've been told, is Neal George Bennett. My father is a dirty cop so his partner arrested him before going into protection with my mom and I. The mob and who knows what corruption in the precinct are a potential threat to me... us." He indicated his twin for their shared appearance. "Then I grew up in St. Louis as Daniel Brooks, which is still my legal name, but Neal Caffrey is closer to my original name." Maybe they'd find his history through Daniel for themselves?

"Wit-Sec, huh," Peter looked at him curiously.

"Yeah, that's a big part of why mom lied to me, but the Marshals didn't prevent her from telling me the truth so it was her choice to make that my past, to lie to me. The Marshals do restrict me from openly discussing my past though." But, they weren't the only ones, and with three agent brothers, he hoped at least one would figure his other secret out.

"That's why I never learned anything about you pre-eighteen." Peter realized this and was more intrigued. "Are you going to be able to talk now, at least some?"

Sighing, Neal could only say, "That's another thing I don't know, the Marshals are working on processing my information and reviewing how to handle it as it comes together." Neal shrugged at them.

"Can you talk about being an FBI agent?" Larkin asked as he turned his phone to reveal the results of the search he'd been doing while the conversation flowed around him.

"Sort of, I'm a White Collar agent based out of Washington DC, but I've done undercover work as an alternate version of myself my whole career. I perform as Neal Caffrey to act as bait to the public corruption connected to my father's precinct." Neal was relieved his twin had uncovered his role quickly, but he glanced nervously at Peter to see how his older brother would handle the news.

"Yep, this keeps leading to mysteries and reveals!" Peter seemed to be shocked by this reveal more than the rest of them.

Growing worried at Peter's silence, Neal reached out to touch his arm, "Peter?" he was relieved when Peter didn't flinch or swat him away.

"I'm not saying this is a bad reveal, just unexpected. Your file crossed my desk more than eight years ago, and I never had a hint that you are an agent." Peter sat still while his mind ran.

"But, discovering that you're an identical twin with another younger set of identical twin brothers, and learning that he grew up in Wit-Set isn't surprising?" Ryker raised an eyebrow at Peter questioningly.

Shrugging as he adjusted, Peter started to smile a little bit, "I don't know anything about my biological family other than what I'm learning about you now, so anything was possible, despite this not being expected." He spun his finger around to indicate those present in the room. "As for Neal, I didn't know anything about him pre-eighteen so Wit-Sec is a logical explanation for why absolutely nothing came up. But, him being an agent, that is totally unexpected. However, it fits with his character more than him being a con now that I know, he always stood out as an unusual criminal."

"You were also blocked from finding my agency records even if you suspected me of being more for any remote reason," Neal smirked at Peter as he began to feel more comfortable.

Laughing, Ryker and Larkin were amused by Peter's pouting frown and grumbled remarks.

Finding a beginning to their bonding, the brothers were released from their work for the day and advised that the reveal would not become public knowledge.

They were all adopted with sealed files on their parentage, and the agencies didn't want to increase the enemies each would be fighting if anyone connected their biological relations. There were still risks, but their agencies would be more open in sharing who was doing what as a precaution to avoid endangering each other's agents.

As for the brothers, their efforts to bond would be complicated by their work and the required secrecy, but they exchanged their contact information and made arrangements to be able to get together from time to time when they could manage it.

When Peter and Neal returned to work, no one on the team knew what had changed. They were still the agent and con who had become friends, but everyone could sense that their friendship had grown deeper.

Smiling at the shared secrets, Peter and Neal knew they were closer for their bonds as brothers and fellow agents.

Thank you, everyone, for reading, reviewing/commenting, leaving kudos, and voting :D

Per your requests, as noted below, I'll begin posting The CI Exchange next weekend :D

The CI Exchange: II